Fieldcraft Ghillie question

[xjjeeperx]

I've noticed some very nice ghillie suits on here, maybe some of you guys could give me some pointers. I have made a few using burlap and they work pretty good. I really like the "grassy" look some of you guys have achieved. When I made my first one I started with a roll of Natural Jute twine. After it got wet from the dying process, it shed like a sick dog. So I started using burlap. I like how the burlap looks. It works great for the mountains down here in Tennessee. I'm just wondering what you guys use to get that dried grass look. The Jute twine i got is basically bailing twine like you'd see used on hay. Is this what you refer to as Jute? Is it suppose to shed that bad? here's a link to some of the ones I threw together.

http://i935.photobucket.com/albums/ad199/xjjeeperx/Picture363.jpg

http://s935.photobucket.com/albums/ad199...136996_8124.jpg

http://i935.photobucket.com/albums/ad199/xjjeeperx/Picture526.jpg

http://i935.photobucket.com/albums/ad199/xjjeeperx/Picture354.jpg

http://i935.photobucket.com/albums/ad199/xjjeeperx/Picture362.jpg

 

[_Shay_]

Re: Ghillie question

Welcome to the hide.

To start off, nice suits. Try to use more jute/burlap string though. It blends better and is better for tieing in veg. Also, it breaks up the outline better .USe some strips to break up hte pattern, but there are no straight lines in nature. Ill look at the pics some more once my computer is fast. But nice work.

 

[xjjeeperx]

Re: Ghillie question

so basically just strip the burlap into string and tie it on in bunches? As you can probably tell i just tied the strips on then frayed it.

 

[_Shay_]

Re: Ghillie question

yup try that, or get cut 1ft by 1ft squares of burlap so you dont waste any burlap.

 

[xjjeeperx]

Re: Ghillie question

Thanks! I'll give that a try. I have some burlap left over from the last project.

 

[Chiller]

Re: Ghillie question

Is there places that are really that green....

 

[xjjeeperx]

Re: Ghillie question

Actually after field testing we found the green needs to be just a tad darker. But yes, In my part of Tennessee its all pine trees and laurels. I have added more brown to facilitate hiding in the fall environment. When I made it it was summer time and everything was green green green lol.

 

[Chiller]

Re: Ghillie question

My AO.....and yes my son is there....

 

[xjjeeperx]

Re: Ghillie question

I love the desert! Is he crawling to the left of the cactus or tree thing lol

 

[xjjeeperx]

Re: Ghillie question

LoL my area of op. Now you see why so much green lol? Sorry I don't know how to post just the pics.

http://i935.photobucket.com/albums/ad199/xjjeeperx/Picture278.jpg
http://i935.photobucket.com/albums/ad199/xjjeeperx/Picture274.jpg
http://i935.photobucket.com/albums/ad199/xjjeeperx/Picture497.jpg

 

[Chiller]

Re: Ghillie question

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: XxBoomerxX</div><div class="ubbcode-body">I love the desert! Is he crawling to the left of the cactus or tree thing lol </div></div>

Nope, he is dead square in the front. Someone smarter that me pointed out a ghillie you look like nothing...

 

[HH4]

Re: Ghillie question

You should thin out your ghillie, the best way to blend in would be to tie in more vegetation. Remove a lot of that jute and add some 550 cord with the ends burned so it does not fray, the 550 cord is used to tie in vegetation. Also you might consider removing most or all of the jute from the front of your ghillie and replacing it with heavy duty canvas if you plan on crawling in it. For your rifle get some boot bands and cut the metal hooks off of them then tie those around the barrel and any where else you want. You can then stick vegetation in the boot bands quickly and easily. The hat part of your ghillie or the veil as we called it should be long enough to go forward and cover the objective lens of your scope. If any one is interested I will dig out my ghillie and take some pics and also give a more detailed step by step guide to building your own.

 

[xjjeeperx]

Re: Ghillie question

Sure VC, I'd love to see some pictures. I think where I Fk'd Up was the netting i used. I used 1/2 inch square netting, and I see most good suits are using 1 - 2 inch squares. I also over did it with the burlap. I'm looking for a how to on making a net from paracord, I tried it the other day but my method would require a second hand. I think I will try another suit with larger netting/less burlap and see how it comes out.

 

[HH4]

Re: Ghillie question

I had to have someone else take the pictures for me becase I don't have my suit where I am right now but this is what I was talking about for the front of your ghillie.
[img:center]

[/img]

Also I am pretty sure my netting is at least 1 1/2-2 inches. I think your best bet instead of building a net from paracord is to just order some netting from someone like tactical concealment, although at the point your at starting over with new netting would be a real pain. If you plan on putting in new netting it would be easier to just make a new suit. Overall I think your suit looks pretty good I would just make a few changes as I described in my first post. When I was talking about using paracord (550 cord) I meant to tie it on your netting the same way you would with jute but only a few pieces spread out evenly. Here is one of the back of the ghillie, I would like to take some more detailed pictures but this is the best I can do for now. [img:center]

[/img]

If you look close you can see my netting has turned white, this is because the asshole in Oceanside that sold us the netting was selling what I think was some old fishing net that had been dyed, so as soon as it got wet the dye came out. This resulted in me having to spray paint my netting before each stalk. So when you do buy your netting just make sure it is good quality and wont change colors when it gets wet. Before I forget when I say tie onto your netting what I mean is make a bite in the center of the peice of material you want to add to your netting and loop it around the netting, this will allow you to remove or replace your jute quickly and easily as needed depending on your environment.

 

[Impact]

Re: Ghillie question

good tips VC. what suspenders are you using and how about gloves ? thanks

 

[xjjeeperx]

Re: Ghillie question

Nice Suit VC! Did you dye your own jute or is that just the natural brown color? When I was dying mine I couldn't get a natural brown no matter what I tried lol. On the front of my suit I tried something different, You know that plastic spray you can get to repair tool handles...well I give the front a nice rough texture with that spray then blended it in with some krylon. I don't do a lot of low crawling in my suits, I mostly use them for hunting turkey and deer. Thanks for all the tips guys, I'm gonna go do some work to my suit and I'll post some more pics

 

[Ghillie Zen]

Re: Ghillie question

boomer, you might want to go easy with that grip spray. it wears down on fabric pretty fast and also seals up the fabric, therefore making it hotter and less breathable. it won't really increase the durability of the fabric, but on the bright side, it's going to be more water resistant.

 

[HH4]

Re: Ghillie question

I dont remember the brand of the suspenders I used, as far as gloves I used mechanix gloves which ended up falling apart after a few stalks. I did dye my jute but in order for it to have a more natural look you have to do a ghillie break in. I guess if you wont be crawling the canvas might not be needed but it will make your suit a lot more durable.